Went Out to Plant a Few Seeds....

       This morning's project was to plant a few rows of Early Contender, our favorite green bean. We ordered these bush bean seeds before I committed to planting the Three Sisters. But I'm not sure how that experiment will go and I'd like to ensure that we have beans we like. So, I went out at nine to start planting and came in at twelve-thirty after planting a grand total of (about) 150 beans.
       Where did the time go, you may ask. Go ahead, ask!

 Beans and cukes will be in upper left corner.

       Do you ever entertain fantasies about starting a project, finishing it without distractions and going on to the next project? I do this all the time, entertain the fantasy, that is. This morning, for example, there were the cucumbers. Cucumbers and beans are companion plants. I've never had a satisfactory cucumber crop, so I thought it would be a good idea to try them with the beans. Even better, I should build trellises for the cukes. But before I did that, I planted some on the hugelkultur's west side because, upon checking my Master Gardener's basic book, I learned that they like some shade, and the west side of the hugel is shaded all morning and maybe some of the afternoon, and the trailing vines, I'm thinking, will cover the very steep slope and provide living mulch. Then right on the other side of the fence, there's the path (alongside the barn) that I finished clearing a few days ago. It too needs mulch. Cucumbers are a deterrent to raccoons so I'm all for planting them here and there to see if that will help. Recall that I saw coon tracks in the garden a few days ago.
       Then I had to search up and collect posts I'd cut and not used for the tomato trellises. That process was interrupted by the happy news that one of the dogs had caught and killed a mole! This mole (I hope it's the one!) has been tearing up my yard for years. Not just the lawn, which, as you might guess, I don't care much about, the the gardens too. The darn thing was twice the size I thought moles are, about five inches long. Well, of course, I had to bury the darn thing--in one of the trenches for the water pipeline my dh is putting in. Naturally, while I was at it, I had to throw in more than the few shovelfuls it took to cover the body. Every few helps, you know.
       So back to the cucumber trellises. And the beans. I haven't actually planted any cukes with the beans yet, but the trellises are up, some more rocks are ready to move out of the garden, and more weeding is done. Come to think of it, radishes are supposed to "help" cukes so I should plant some of those too. Will the trellises support the cukes? Darned if I know. I've never built trellises before, except for the ones I finished a few days ago for the tomatoes. No pictures yet. Sorry, dh transfers photos for me as my computer doesn't have the software. What I constructed are a combination of ideas from photos I've seen, involving black locust posts and sisal (that's binder twine, for you non-farmers).
       If this post seems a bit disorganized, it's no wonder; my mind feels about as organized as my morning. I hope to get the rest of the Early Contenders and the cukes (and the radishes) in this afternoon, but the temp is supposed to reach 80 and that's really too hot for me. I may have to resort to working in the shade (sigh) pulling weeds.
       This business of counting seeds, I don't usually do this, but I counted the sweet corn seeds that went into the Three Sisters hills. That was 650. A lot, yes, but we've never harvested enough in the past because of the raccoons and deer. Even if we keep those critters out and the entire crop comes in, that wouldn't be too much. What doesn't go into the freezer for corn-on-the-cob flavor later, will be dried and used for cornmeal. But I digress. Knowing how many seeds I plant and what I harvest from that planting is useful knowledge, and sort of entertaining as well, so I'm going to try to keep track.
       Okay, enough said. Back to work.